Misplaced Affections
by musicgirl97
Summary: You don't choose who you love, but when they don't love you back what is it worth. Stuck in an awful love triangle, Alice's feelings start to interfere until someone from her past comes, and possibly provides a solution to it all. But will she take it? Or stay in an awkward position? A/N on last chapter has been edited, i am taking aleave of absence till december at the earliest
1. Chapter 1

Misplaced Affections

Disclaimer for all Chapters: I don't own Wild at Heart…sorry if I did I would not need to do this J Also this will be a bit AU and people will not say exactly what they say in the show but that will make sense in a minute

[x]

Danny watched as she stepped out of the car, she was cute and her smile was from ear to ear. He knew straight away that they were going to get along just fine. 'I hope you're not the new Vet…' He said to her and the little girl smiled at him. He was glad to see that she thought he was funny.

However when her mother Alice stepped out of their Ute a sudden sense of tension came into the air. Here right in front of him was this beautiful women and he got to work with her. But after their first conversation and the rest of the day he knew that he was not going to get on as well with Alice as he already did with Charlotte.

And he was the one that had suggested that morning that they put the locum vet up at Leopards Den, now there was no escape for him. She was working with him, currently she was living with and she was showing him up in nearly everything he did. She was an awesome vet but she seemed to have taken a sudden dislike to him and Danny could not think why.

[x]

Alice looked up at the roof of her hut, she was anxious to get out of this place. Everyone seemed nice expect Danny Trevanion. He set her teeth on edge. She had taken an instant liking to her and she had felt the tension between them, she knew that two people in the same place that were so similar was a bad idea.

And Charlotte had taken an instant liking to him which was not good, the last thing she wanted was Charlotte getting attached to someone and then them having to move on again. She was a locum after all. She was almost homeless, she never stayed anywhere very long, moving around where the jobs were and as it happens this is where she had to be working now. On a quarantine operation that would end in a few days. Then she could move on again to wherever the job was. Charlotte was all the home she needed.

But there was something deep down in her heart, something that she had not felt in a long time, something that she could not put a finger on, not just yet.

He had asked her to stay and she had smiled into his eyes. No commitments for three weeks and then she could make her final decision. But Alice already knew what that was going to be. She was going to say yes, Charlotte was her family but the Leopards Den family could be her new family and maybe this one would not be as over-rated as the maternal one she had been born into. The only person in that family that she loved was her mother and she had died long ago. Her father and brother did not even want to hear about her anymore and hadn't in a long time.

Maybe things would turn out to be different this time, maybe this family would not mess with her feelings, belittle her and make her feel like she did not belong in the family that she had.

[x]

The days that followed that seemed to go quicker than they ever had before. With Rosie and Max's wedding coming up and so much to do in the surgery there was never a dull moment at Leopards Den.

But there was one thing that brought a down side to this place was the wealthy land owner next door that seemed to have her sights set on Danny. She was rich and beautiful and she wanted Danny and as she watched her interactions with Danny, Alice realised that she would stop at nothing to get him.

Then there was Dup, someone she could talk to, he made her laugh all the time and had a friendly feel to him. At nights she liked to stand out with him and tonight was no exception.

Dup stood on the veranda, one hand on the railing and a beer in the other, a pose he had adopted long ago and practiced each night without fail. Caroline was not coming back to Leopards Den, the love of his life was gone from his life and there was nothing he could do. There was no way he could become a city man and live in Bristol with Caroline and Olivia. That was simply not going to happen.

And since she was not coming back to him she was as good as lost. He sighed and took another drink as he stared out into the bush that surrounded his house, his life and his heart. It meant so much to him, part of the reason why he was not leaving.

He was so busy gazing into the distance that he did not even see or hear Alice come out of the house and walk up beside him. It was not until she spoke that he finally figured out she was there. 'You know Dup, I really am sorry about Caroline. It must be really hard on you, it wasn't really fair or Georgina to do that.' She said as she rubbed his arm.

Strangely this scraggily old man had a way of wriggling into people's hearts and he had done it to her. 'You want my advice Alice, when you love someone, tell them and don't let anything get in your way.'

Alice smiled. 'And what makes you think I love someone? Shouldn't I be giving that advice to you?' Her cheesy grin made him laugh.

'Alice, I know I may look stupid, and like there is no-one upstairs but trust me I can tell when someone is in love and _you_ are in love.' He said, taking another gulp of his beer.

Dup was always so blank and plain and Alice was surprised when she took his words to heart. He was right, she was in love and she was in love with Danny. But her affections were wrongly placed because he loved Vanessa. She was pretty and beautiful and she ran a very successful game park in the past and compared to Alice she seemed amazing. But Danny was amazing and it made her heart ache when she thought about him loving another women.

To Danny Alice would forever be a friend. 'I know I am right Alice, you just need to let him know, because I am sure that Danny feels the same way.' Dup said, before turning around and walking back into the house mumbling something, something she did not understand leaving her alone in the night.

He had been right though she did love Danny, but the other thing he had said had shocked her. 'I am sure that Danny feels the same way.' He had said. What was that supposed to mean. And then he walked off and left her to her thought.

But she was so sure that he loved Vanessa because whenever she same around Danny buckled and did whatever she wanted, despite what he was already doing. He just dropped everything and ran after like a lovesick puppy.

Because that was what he was…lovesick and it almost made Alice sick, because Vanessa had something that she was likely to never have. She had loved before; there was the married man, Paul who had ultimately decided that he wanted his children and wife over her, even though she had one of his children. And then more recently there had been Terry. Part of her still loved him, but it was never going to work. She wanted stability but in his line of work that kind of stability in a home, settling down was never going to happen. So she kept on the move too, never letting her feelings misguide her judgement or get in the way of how she felt and she would just move on when she felt the time was right, and she would do it time and time again.

Expect at Leopards Den. Despite the fact that the man she loved, loved another women and she was stuck in a hopeless love triangle she could not bring herself to pick up her life, her daughter and the small amount of possessions that she owned and leave her, it just did not feel right.

The next day Danny was already in the clinic when Alice walked in. Rosie was there also, they were talking about Tula again. Every time she was down there they were talking about the cute little baby elephant.

Alice smiled as she saw the parent child relationship at a level that was higher than her own. It made her smile as she finally walked over to join them. The conversation was the same as it always was, they were thinking of changing the milk again, giving her some more medicine, doing this, doing that trying to keep the little elephant happy. Alice had thought about this a lot; Elephants were highly emotional creatures, much like humans were.

Tula had seen a lot, or so she had heard. Before they stole her from Mara with her mother, her life had been on the line since the second she was born. Then ultimately from all of it all her mother had needed to be out down because she was not going to make it. And she must have been pretty bad for Danny to have shot her, since she had arrived she had watched Danny work, despite how bad some of the animals were. So if Tula reflected in the slightest how her mother was it was no wonder she was in a bad way. But there were two things in combination that Alice thought were causing all of the problems.

The first was that she was lonely. People were good friends but they were not her family, not her own kind. The second problem, which Alice thought was a major contributor to the problem, was post-traumatic stress.

'Danny, could she be stressed about something?' Alice asked; keen to nudge Danny into the right direction.

Danny looked up, noticing that she was there. 'Could be, but what I really think she needs is a family.' Those words, hot close to home for Alice, she needed a real family too.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Danny ran into the house. 'Alice, Alice I need you.' He called. He was now standing in the kitchen and he continued to bellow Alice's name, wondering if from his voice she could hear the urgency in his voice.

He looked around and he still could not see her so he walked outside and back to the truck where he got in a drove a little further to hospital where he could see a long line of patients outside and he knew it was where she was. 'Alice, I could really use your help here.' He cried, into the door way, as he saw her in her bright green plastic apron.

Alice looked up at him and saw the look on his face. She went out and saw Dup in the Ute, lying face down, but there and alive and very much in one piece, for the moment. When Rosie was through with it would be a different matter altogether.

'I know it's not really in the job description, but could you give me a hand.' He said and Alice looked at him like he was joking. She was going to lift Du Plessis out of the truck and help get him into the house, and it was only Danny helping! The way Dup was acting they were going to need a crane to simply get him out, let alone move him.

Alice nodded despite it all and walked towards him and then took a small step backwards again as his brutalising odour filled her lungs. 'I'm almost getting drunk just being here.' She said to Danny with a small laugh, he to laughed and nodded in agreement, breaking the ice of such an unpleasant task.

As Danny and Alice lifted Dup up it seemed like all of the odds were going to be against them. This man, about as far away from being sober as Pluto is from the earth. Alice thought about that as she continued to lift him, he was never entirely sober, he always had and alcoholic beverage hidden on the house or in his hand.

As they continued to walk just a few steps both Danny and Alice felt a very sudden jerk from the man who was only just conscious. Danny and Alice both took a step to each side as Dup spun and muttered 'I think I gonna be sick.'

Within mere seconds, everyone who had been watching this unpleasant scenario turned as Dup removed the waste with he had so haphazardly consumed.

'You don't really need me here anymore.' Alice said, disgusted by what she had witnessed. Danny was now standing just in front of her and he spun as he heard her speak.

'Yeah, OK, you have patients I guess.' Danny said. He moved his hand up to hers a squeezed it before walking off to try and scrap Dup off the floor to leave her to do her own thing.

Alice smiled, her cheeks feeling suddenly hot at Danny's touch. Every time she went near him she felt like she loved him so much more, and he just acted like they were only mutual friends. Why was it that she always seemed to fall in love with the wrong people? All she wanted was to feel close to someone, have feelings towards someone that separated that one person from all the others. But with every passing day she felt like he was slipping away from her and into Vanessa's loving outstretched arms, offering him anything he so desired.

She was rich, owning Mara, the next door game reserve. She was more his age that Alice, she had less of a shady history, not something that other people would scoff and scorn at. She was exactly the kind of person he would want.

Alice on the other hand was a poor vet, who he had only recently met and given a job too. They were colleagues and it seemed that no one would ever dare get in a relationship with someone that you worked with.

So Alice sighed as she realised that her chances were slim, but she could still hold on to that hope, that for once the scales would be in her favour, just once was all she wanted.

[x]

It had been hard for Alice to watch Dup adopt Tula into her new family, knowing that aside from charlotte she was probably never going to have a real family. She was probably not going to ever have the opportunity to love someone so much to have a proper family with them.

Every time she had loved before it had ended badly for her. Being left by a man to stay in a loveless relationship, being left because she was pregnant and the guy was not ready for that kind of commitment. Although it had turned out ok for Alice in the end, not everything had been smooth sailing for her.

When Charlotte was born she was fresh out of University, had no job and no money and a new baby to provide for. It had been a rough time, but it was all worth it.

Then there was the next one, who once again left her, but in a way she also left him. Terry had always been so into his work and never spent enough quality time with Alice. He treasured his work over her and she had had enough of it so after him leaving her each morning, she packed up her things and eventually wound up at Leopards Den.

Alice flopped back down onto her bed as she continued to think about her life, and how unfair it had seemed. She had loved Terry, for a while she had though her would be the one to love her unconditionally back, but the world had said she could not have him and he was slowly taken from underneath her.

Alice sighed. Not knowing what her life would bring in the days that followed, but purely hoping for salvation.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

The suns light fell upon the earth, lighting up the mood of the world as it sung out rejoicing in the presence of the sun. As Rosie sat by the pool and read a magazine on such a fine day she thought she was probably the only person who was not enjoying the day.

The reason she was so dismal when everything around her was flourishing was purely due to the lack of presence provided by another. She sighed as she continued to read an article about how things could be tough for young married couples and she could not help but agree.

Since she was a little girl she had always believed that a honeymoon was supposed to be the most romantic time of her life, filled with making memories with her new husband.

But as she continued to read by the pool Rosie thought about the memories she had made with Max on her honeymoon, or rather lack of them. When they left they went to spend a week with her new in-laws.

That in itself had been an exciting prospect and her new in-laws had insisted that they do lots of activities together, spending time as the new family that they were.

Max had protested against not been able to spend time with his new bride, but Rosie had soon calmed him down saying 'Max, its fine, we have the rest of our lives together, plus some time on the beach after this week is over.'

After she had said that he smiled at her, a loving gleam in his eye, desperately wanting to please his new wife. They enjoyed a week with his family, going to the beach, going on picnics and just being a family, something that Max had missed out in recent years, and generally just getting to know each other.

When the week had ended and they bid their farewells are set off for the romantic part of their honeymoon, the time when her and her husband would spend every moment together, totally in love and inseparable.

Well, that had been what she had believed. Since they arrived at the resort they were staying at she had barely seen Max. He was always at the bar talking or drinking or enjoying having fun without her. Every time she tried to organise for them to do something she would find he had already organised to do something without her.

So she would be left to do something on her own. Being on her own had made her miss her family back home at Leopards Den, thinking about them and what they were doing made it more bearable, easier to get by each day.

And when she did see him, he was always raving about how much fun he had had that day doing whatever it was that he did without her. So in turn she would talk about how much she missed her Dad, and her step brother and Dup, and the animals, and everything that provided stability in her life, something her new husband was not doing.

Then each night they would lie side by side in their bed and they would both stare up at the ceiling until one of the fell asleep, with barely a word murmured between them.

So as she continued to read the article she thought about the decisions she had in the past few days and weeks, wondering if she had made the right decisions. In her heart she knew that she had done the right thing. Max was the other half of her; she knew that they were perfect.

And just like the article said, they would get through this rough spot and everything would be fine between them both, but for that to happen they Rosie needed him to talk to her, talk to her about the baby, about how much he loved her and make her feel special not alone.

One thing Rosie never thought she would do was wish that her honeymoon was over.

[x]

Danny looked over at Alice, hoping that she could not see his fear. When one of the locals called up with a supposed wild dog, Danny could not help but he sceptical. In all his time in Africa he had not even come close to seeing one, hearing of one in the area, not a trace.

So for one to turn up out of the blue had been a big surprise. Not knowing how to deal with an animal made Danny feel very uncomfortable. Something that he did not know however was that Alice was just as uncomfortable in this situation.

'I haven't done something like this before.' Alice whispered to Danny, over the cage that was separating them both.

Danny looked up into her eyes and smiled feeling a weight lift of his shoulders. 'Yeah well don't tell him but nor have I.' Danny said. He looked at Alice and they shared a look that comforted them both knowing that they were both on unfamiliar territory. Danny turned to the man who caught the dog 'You did the right thing not killing it.'

The man shrugged gun in his hand. 'So you know what you are doing then.'

Alice and Danny both looked at each other before turning back around. 'Absolutely,' they both said in unison. He looked at them both before emphasising that he had a gun before walking off in the direction of his wife and children.

Danny looked back over at Alice, giving her a reassuring smile. This wild dog was bringing out a side of Alice that Danny had never seen before, a side to Alice that showed how nervous she was about catching a wild dog, an animal that was notorious for causing considerable damage.

It took time and patience to get the animal into the pen trap that they had rigged up, but it only took seconds for something to go wrong.

When the latch did not close properly Danny's heart sank. Knowing one of them would have to stick their hand in there to fix it he looked up at Alice. He knew that they both knew the dangers of putting their hand in there.

Danny was about to say that he would do it, anything to keep Alice safe. But he was too late and she had already done it. 'Alice be careful,' he said quickly.

But it seemed that he jinxed the situation as the dog bit down of Alice's jumper. Danny's heart sunk lower as he ran around the other side of the cage where Alice was standing, coming to her rescue. Her arm was being yanked around by the wild dog, but finally she managed to get it loose. But both of them were in shock. Danny pulled up Alice's sleeve to assess the damage, and was relieved to find that most of the bite had been taken up by the jumped with only a few scratches on her arm.

Alice, brushing off what happened urged Danny to go back to what they were doing, determined to get the wild dog locked up where it could not hurt anyone anymore.

'Danny,' Alice said, when they finally had the dog and were loading it into the jeep 'Thanks for that, it really scared me when it got hold.' As she spoke she felt the blood rush to her cheeks and hoped it was not visible.

Danny looked up from the rope he was securing and smiled at her. 'I'm a regular super hero aren't I? Don't deny it Alice, I am your hero.' Noticing the awkwardness Danny easily made light of the situation.

But what he did not realise was that he was Alice's hero; she just hoped that he would realise that she was the damsel that he wanted to save not Vanessa.

'Your right Danny, you are my hero, you're a regular superman, saving poor girls like me on a day to day basis.' Alice said, hoping that this conversation would go in the direction she wanted it to and Danny might finally realise that she loved him, and he might realise that she was a much better candidate for the role of Lois Lane.

Danny just looked at her though and brushed off the conversation climbing into the Jeep and turning to Alice 'Rosie and Max get back today, it will be good to have them back today.'

Alice nodded. It was perfect. Not that she resented Rosie or Max, but it was just another couple for her to have to look at and envy.

Little did she know though, their arrival would just be the start of a long line of chaos as Leopards Den…

* * *

Well, thanks to those who reviewed cloloveswah, wildatheartfan and Guest, there have been two now, I don't know if you are the same both times or two different people, regardless of that I thank you. I hope you enjoyed, tell me what you think, press the botton below


	4. Chapter 4

Danny sighed as he walked around the corner. The generator had gone again and he had just heard the results from Dup's 'preliminary tests'. The so called results had not been what he wanted to hear which only made things more was hard to get a generator in the middle of Glen Afric, but it could be done. You just had to know how to handle things. And Dup had no clue.

But Danny could not immerse himself in finding a generator because he had to talk to Alice about the pressing matter of the wild dog.

She had been moving all of the foods that had gone off out of the fridge, getting ready to take them away. He quickly began to help her and they were both soon carrying crates of rotten food to the Jeep. 'I called the National Wild Dogs Trust; they are keen to help, sending a specialist actually, can't quite remember his name, Terry something or other.'

Alice looked at him and then tripped over her own feet and Danny rushed to her side. 'Are you sure that wild dog didn't get you?'

Alice brushed herself of him and looked at him. 'Well actually I was thinking of going into town today and getting new supplies.' She spoke to the ground, not wanting to make eye contact in case he asked questions.

But not that it mattered anyway because he loved Vanessa not her, so in the end what was the problem? 'I appreciate that Alice, but there is no way I am going to let you miss this kind of opportunity, and that final, Alice.' Danny said before walking off into the distance.

Alice sighed. She really should tell him about Terry, but it was just too hard and her feelings would get in the way. But he loved Vanessa, she was sure of it, he was probably going to tell her all about the Wild Dog right now, rather than sitting around here.

Maybe Terry was the kind of refreshing change that she needed, an old love to get her mind off the new one. It was an idea but Alice knew that it was never going to work. Instead she was just going to have to grin and bear it, smile and pretend she did not care about Terry anymore.

[x]

Alice sat down on the floor of the clinic. It was a place where she was able to think, able to weigh up the options that she had been given. Terry had asked her to come with him and had promised her that this time around would be different. He had said that they could be a family, something that Alice had desperately wanted. They had operated on the Wild Dog, her bag was packed, but still she felt like she needed to think about things. Surely that was some kind of a sign, a sign that she should stay.

But Danny had Rosie and Max back now and there was no need for her to stay, and staying and watching Danny get with Vanessa would break her heart.

It was the last thought that made her truly decide. She would go with Terry and see how things worked out, because surely they would all work out better than if she stayed her and had her heart broken.

* * *

_So, I have had some trouble articulating this bit properly. This bit and the next chapter have been on the tip of my tongue for a while but now that I have them written and happy enough with them it is all better again. Please review, and thanks to those who have ;)_


	5. Chapter 5

Charlotte looked around at everything that was surrounding her. Once upon a time she was surrounded by bush; she had a cheetah for a pet. There as an old man who made her laugh and there was a new adventure at every turn.

Now she sat in her room wondering what she was going to do. She looked at each of the four walls in her room. They were white. Plain white. Boring white. Dreary White. It was just like this place. She had always had so much to do at Leopards Den, she would help Nomsa or do things with Danny or Dup or take Domino for a walk or play with Jana or annoy Evan.

But here in this plain, boring and dreary place she had nothing to do. She had left Leopards Den four days ago and she missed it like she would an arms or a leg. It had become a part of her and now it had been taken from her.

'It will all be Ok with Terry now.' Her mum had told her, but Charlie had not believed her. She liked Danny more than Terry anyway. He was much funnier than Terry, and Terry was meaner than Danny.

'What now Domino, I'm bored.' Charlotte said to her only friend for about the hundredth time since she left.

[x]

Rosie looked at Max, who looked right back at her. Since Alice had been there, Rosie wanted to try and get into University again, but now that she was gone she could not leave her dad.

'It's ok, eventually everything will all fall into place.' Max said but Rosie was not sure. She had been hoping that things would fall into place, but it seemed that all that was happening was that everything was just falling out of place.

Since Alice left, nothing really seemed to go right. He dad had retreated into himself again because of the loss; he just avoided the subject like the whole thing had never even happened. Like Alice had never been important to him, but one thing she knew was that ignoring it was not was not going to help.

'But Max, how can I? I can't leave Dad now, not yet.' He just looked at her, that look that made her feel warm and fuzzy inside, the look that made her feel safe and better.

[x]

Vanessa smiled as she got out of the car, apart from her own home; Leopards Den was the next best place in the world. After all it was where Danny lived wasn't it and now that beautiful Alice was out of the way, Danny was hers for the taking.

* * *

_So over the next few weeks I am going to be SUPER busy. My school is putting up the musical _Little Shop of Horrors_ and there are so many rehearsals that it is not funny, so I thought a really quick update would be good becasue there probably will not be one for a while in this story, but you can expect some Wild 100 because they are short and quick ;)_


	6. Chapter 6

Alice walked into the Veterinary clinic. It was not like the one at Leopards Den, where the animals came in, the locals were happy to see you. You could treat wild animals, or go and do it in the bush.

Here the animals were boring; here she had cats and birds, nothing of interest, nothing to take away her pain. She sighed as she finished yet another cat, the fourth one today. It was only lunch time and Alice knew she would have more cats before the day wore out and chances were that they would all have the same problem as the ones previously.

It didn't take Einstein to work out that Alice was not happy. Leaving Leopards Den was the worst thing that she had ever done, something that she regretted every day when she woke up next to Terry.

He had promised her that this time around things would be different, but after four weeks, nothing had changed and everything resembled the relationship it once had. Charlie was unhappy, it didn't take much to see, but Alice tried and tried to rationalise and say it was better than being around Danny and Leopards Den, where she was not loved in the right way by the person she loved.

But every day when Alice woke up she could not help but think what it would have been like if she had stayed at Leopards Den, if she had declined Terry's offer.

Charlie would be happier, and that would make Alice happy, but would she be happy seeing Danny with Vanessa? It was something she was going to have to ask herself about; could she ever face the people at Leopards Den again?

As the day wore on similar to the one the day before Alice had all the time in the world to think about it but maybe not all the time in the world to act upon her decision.

[x]

Rosie smiled as she saw Max standing at the door of their little house. She was looking at the little ot that Max had made for her when she had been expecting a baby, not all that long ago.

If the fates had been kinder then she would still be pregnant. Max moved from the door frame to sit beside her, placing one arm around her waist. 'It's not the end of the world you know, we can try again.' He said, making her smile.

'But what if it happens again, I don't think I am ready.' She said, all of her worries coming out, finally coming out into the open.

Max kissed her temple and then spoke to her in a comforting tone 'I don't see a reason why it should happen again, you're healthy. It's not like you can support the baby. And I don't see you trying to get barrelled over again by an angry mumma elephant.'

Rosie giggled a bit, and smiled at his choice of words. 'You know what, maybe you're right. And this time, we would be more careful, I won't get knocked over by an angry ellie.'

Max, looked at her and then grabbed her by the hand leading her outside into the sunlight. 'So that settles it then, we try for another baby. We won't forget the other, they will hold a special place in our hearts, but we need to move forward. Now if you will follow me, Danny wanted to see you.'

'Is Dad ok?' she asked him and he shook his head.

'I don't know really; think he has been a bit down since Alice left.' Max said, as he pulled her in the direction of the house.

When they got there, they notice Danny on the porch, almost as if he was waiting for them to come. 'I'll leave you guys to it then.' Max said as he turned around and walked away leaving Danny and Rosie alone.

Rosie moved to sit down beside her father, waiting for him to speak. When he finally did, he voice was small, reflecting how he felt. 'Rosie, I don't know what to do. I thought that I loved Vanessa, I thought that maybe she would be able to help me love again.' He began.

'I don't see the problem then.' Rosie said.

'That's just it, there shouldn't be a problem, but there is. See after Alice left I realised something. I love Alice, not Vanessa.' Danny said, putting his head in his hands. 'I don't know what to do, do I learn to love Vanessa, or move on from Alice. It's not like she loved me anyway. She's with Terry now so it would never work.' He said.

Rosie looked at her dad, and at what a mess he had become. 'Dad, I think there is only one thing you can do, and that is talk to Alice.' Rosie said before walking off leaving her dad to his thoughts.


	7. Chapter 7

Alice walked into Charlotte's bedroom to kiss her daughter good night. It was later in the night and she was ready for bed, tired after a day at school.

It was then that she saw it, the pinkness of her cheek. One of them, the one on the left was ever so slightly pinker than the other cheek and both of them were stained with her salty tears. The grimace on Alice's face grew when she spoke to her daughter. 'Charlotte, why have you been crying?' She asked, as she stoked her daughter's silky hair.

'It nothing mummy, I am just sad.' Charlotte said as she turned over so that Alice could no longer see her pink cheek.

'It's ok, you can tell me anything. We are best friends remember.' Alice said as she continued to stroke her daughter's hair to relax and comfort her. She continued for a short while and the realised that Charlie was not going to answer her because she had fallen asleep with her face under the cover.

Alice put her hand on her shoulder and she pulled Charlotte's limp body so that once again her cheek was visible. Now getting a proper look at it she gasped as she realised that her cheek had been bruised.

Alice stood up and walked to Charlotte's door frame before taking one last look at her beloved daughter before grabbing the door handle and closing the door, not wanting her to her the conversation she was about to have with Terry.

Terry looked up from his newspaper when he heard Alice come into the lounge room. He face was dark like a starless night. He watched her as she walked past the couch until she was standing in front of him, their eyes meeting.

Alice held the stare for a few short moments before launching into the conversation. 'Can you tell me what happened with Charlotte?' She asked her voice was soft and still, not at all reflecting how she had been looking just moments ago.

Terry place the newspaper down beside him on the couch. 'She was hit by a basketball at school today.' He said, in a calm way.

'Oh is that all?'

'I do believe so. Poor little angel.' Terry put extra emphasis on the word 'angel' as if he were trying to make a point.

'See I don't think it is. I asked her and if she was hit by a basketball she would have told me. I think something else happened and I think you know what.' Alice said, her voice now resembling her facial expressions.

Terry stood up so that his eyes were just above Alice's as he was slightly taller than she was. 'Are you suggesting that I did something to her?'

'Not Suggesting, I know you did.' Alice was becoming more and more passionate by the minute now.

Terry lifted his hand, close to Alice's face, before it quivered and then he dropped it again. 'She didn't do what she was told.' He said nonchalantly, as if he didn't even care.

'You hit my daughter?' Alice cried 'and you almost hit me. There is never an excuse to slap her across the face, it doesn't matter how naughty she is.'

'Well, she refused to clean all the dishes, and she deserved to be punished.'

'You never, ever lay a hand on my daughter, do you understand me?' Alice questioned.

What Terry did next was unpredictable. Terry raised his arm, swinging it is fluid motion until it made contact with Alice's face, the noise of the slap resounding through the room.

'You never tell me what to do.' He growled before walking out of the room, before leaving Alice who was now crying on the floor.

[x]

Danny went about his daily business like he had to every day. There were new animals that needed to be looked after. There were old animals that needed to be looked after, along with Vanessa's and animals from the township too.

But it wasn't the only thing Danny had to look after. He had his family to look after. Everything that mattered to them, small or large, his daughter, his step son, his late wife's mother in law, his son in law and some of his closest friends all needed looking after.

And in his role at the watch keeper, he had forgotten to look after himself so Evan and Rosie had taken it upon themselves to look after him. With each passing day the made sure there was something in it that made him happy.

'Do you think Alice will ever come back?' Evan asked Rosie as they stood by the phone in the house. Rosie had the phone to her ear and Evan was watching to make sure that Danny didn't come in on them.

'I think she might.' came a voice that didn't belong to Evan or Rosie. They both spun around to see two silhouetted figures in the door way with some suitcases by their sides. Evan looked at Rosie before rushing over to them.

'Alice,' he exclaimed as he embraced her in a hug.

**Thanks for the AWESOME reviews, you all make it awesome for me, and you feed my muse**


	8. Chapter 8

Danny walked into Leopards Den and stopped in shock when he saw Alice standing in the entrance Hall. She looked at him and he looked at her, they both smiled at each other neither of them wanting to speak in case it was all a dream. Rosie walked up to Evan, who was holding Charlotte's hand, standing just behind Alice. 'Maybe we should give them some alone time.' She whispered in his ear. He nodded and directed Charlotte out of the room so that Danny and Alice were left alone.

'Do you want to come and sit down?' Danny asked, motioning for Alice to follow him to the lounge room so that they could talk.

She nodded and followed him, until they were both seated on opposite sides of the couch. 'I left Terry.' Alice said 'and I was wondering if I could come back here?'

'Yeah, but I thought you didn't like it here?' he asked her, his heart skipping a beat.

'Well, it's not that exactly.' She said, hoping that she would not have to confess her feelings for him.

'What was it then? Why did you leave if you were only going to come back?'

'Danny, please, this isn't how I wanted our reunion to be. I wanted to greet you as a friend as if nothing had ever happened.' She lied, knowing that she wanted him to be hers.

'Well how did you want it to be, Alice I missed you when you were gone. Actually I missed you a lot when you were gone.' He said; his cheeks tinged with pink.

She smiled, and could not say anything. He moved closer to her and he gently placed his lips on hers. The kiss was tender and sweet, not like any other before. It was like the heavens opened and an angelic choir was singing. When he pulled away he whispered 'from the first time I set eyes on you, the first time. Alice I love you.' He said.

Alice looked at him and smiled, her heart beating twice as fast, she was in love with Daniel Trevanion and he was in love with her.

**And this is where it ends for me, also I just want to say that I am leaving temporarily, and I will not be back until december at the earliest, so until then :) adious amegos...also my name will be changing, so message from fanfiction I dont really know...**


End file.
